Removable head, open-end ratchet wrench



April 12, 1955 R. N. KENTISH REMOVABLE HEAD, OPEN-END' RATCHET WRENCH Filed Oct. 1, 195a United States Patent REMOVABLE HEAD, OPEN-END RATCHET WRENCH Reginald Nicholas Kentish, St. Albans, England Application October 1, 1953, Serial No. 383,658

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 21, 1952 1 Claim. (Cl. 81-58.2)

The present invention relates to hand tools and has for an object to provide an improved hand tool having a detachable work engaging head.

According to the invention a hand tool comprises a handle member having detachably supported thereon for angular displacement with respect thereto a work engag ing head and means providing a driving connection between the handle member and the work engaging head.

Conveniently the said work engaging head is supported for rotation with respect to the handle member by a pin releasably secured in the said member and the said driving connection is by means of a pawl and ratchet. Preferably the pawl is supported by the handle member and engages in ratchet teeth on the work engaging head.

According to a further feature of the invention there is provided a means for pre-setting the work engaging head at a selected angle of inclination with respect to the axis of the handle member. In the case in which the said driving connection is by pawl and ratchet, the said pre-setting means may comprise a means for disengaging the pawl from the ratchet teeth to permit the work engaging head to be adjusted to the desired angular position relative to the handle member.

In applying the invention to an open-end ratchet, a plurality of nut-engaging heads may be provided each adapted to engage a nut of a different size, so that the open-end ratchet can be readily adapted for use with a nut of a particular size merely by selecting the appropriate nut-engaging head and attaching it to the handle member.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an open-end ratchet according to the invention, and

Figure 2 is an end view thereof as viewed from the right of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional plan view of a detail drawn to an enlarged scale and showing an alternative construction.

As will be seen from the drawings, the open-end ratchet comprises a handle 1 to which is secured a ratchet housing 2 having rotatably supported thereon at one end, hereinafter referred to as the front end, a nut engaging head 3. The handle 1 is provided with a hollow tubular portion 1a adapted to receive the rear end 2a of the ratchet housing 2 the said housing is in the form of a cylinder having a diameter equal to the external diameter of the tubular portion 1a of the handle, the said rear end 2a of the housing being of reduced diameter to have a force fit within the said tubular portion of the handle.

The front end of the ratchet housing is provided with a diametrically extending slot 4 adapted to receive the head 3 which is apertured to receive a pin 5 supported in a transversely extending bore in the housing 2. The pin 5 is provided at one end with an enlarged head 6 adapted to engage a flat formed at the front end of the housing 2, and the other end of the pin is provided with a groove or recess 7 into which engages one end of a leaf spring 8 secured at its other end to the housing by means of a screw 9, the pin 5 being thus releasably secured in the housing by the spring 8. Upon flexing the middle portion of the said spring the said one end 2,705,897 Patented Apr. 12, 1955 ice thereof is disengaged from the groove 7 to permit withdrawal of the pin 5 from the housing. In this manner the nut-engaging head 3 is removably supported in the housing 2 for rotation about the pin 5.

In an alternative construction, the leaf spring 8 and the groove in the pin 5 are dispensed with, and, as shown in Figure 3, a pin 5a is formed with a flat 5b extending longitudinally thereof from the head of the pin to within a short distance from the other end thereof to leave a shoulder 50 at the said other end. A grub screw 19 extends inwardly from the end of the housing into the transversely extending bore to engage the flat on the pin. The said grub screw is positioned at the side of the housing corresponding to the head 6a of the pin and it will be apparent that upon loosening the screw, the pin can be withdrawn from the bore sufiiciently to enable the head to be removed but will be prevented from being completely withdrawn by engagement of the screw with the shoulder at the end of the pin.

The head 3 is provided at its front end with a slot 10 adapted to engage a nut and at the other end with ratchet teeth 11. A ratchet pin 12 is slidably disposed in an axial bore 13 extending inwardly from the front end of the housing 2, the forward end of the said pin being formed as a pawl 12a adapted to engage the ratchet teeth 11 and the rear end of the said pin engages a compression spring 14 positioned in the axial bore 13 in engagement with the rear end thereof. In this manner the pawl 12a is urged into engagement with the ratchet teeth 11 by the spring 14 to provide a driving connection between the handle 1 and the head 3 when the handle is rotated relative to the head in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1, and permitting the handle to rotate freely with respect to the head in the anti-clockwise direction.

In order to permit the head 3 to be present at the selected angular position relative to the housing 2, a means is provided for withdrawing the pawl 12a from engagement with the teeth 11.

The said means comprises a pin 15 slidably positioned in an elongated slot 16 extending longitudinally of the housing 2 and screw threaded at its lower end as at 17 into the ratchet pin 12. The upper end of the pin 15 is secured in a thumb pad 18 slidably positioned on the housing 2 for sliding movement longitudinally thereof and forming a closure for the slot 16. The pawl 12a can thus be retracted from engagement with the teeth 11 against the force of the spring 14 by moving the thumb pad 18 longitudinally of the housing in a direction away from the head 3 and thereby permit the head 3 to be angularly adjusted with respect to the housing.

The pin 5 releasably engaged by the leaf spring 8 provides a ready means for releasably supporting a selected one of a plurality of heads each having a different sized nut-engaging slot 10, and in this manner the openend ratchet can be readily adapted to the size of not upon which it is to be used.

Although the invention has been described with reference to an open-end ratchet it will be understood that the invention is not limited to open-end ratchets but may be applied to other hand tools of the type adapted to impart rotary motion by oscillating movement of the handle of the tool.

What I claim is:

A hand tool comprising a handle member having an open ended slot extending longitudinally thereof from one end and an aperture extending transversely therethrough adjacent the said one end and opening into the said slot, a work-engaging head having an aperture, a pin slidably disposed in the aperture in the handle and extending through the aperture in the work-engaging head to support the work-engaging head on the handle for angular displacement relative thereto, a head at one end of the said pin and a shoulder at the other end thereof slidable within said apertures, a screw extending into the said transverse aperture transversely of the axis thereof adjacent the head end of the pin for releasably engaging the pin to secure the pin in the said aperture and adapted upon disengagement from the pin, to extend into the path of sliding movement of the said shoulder thereby to prevent complete withdrawal of the pin from the handle, and a pawl and ratchet driving connection between the said handle and the work-engaging head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS McCallum June 5, Henrikson Aug. 21, Hansen Oct. 25, Ruscoe Apr. 2, Sokolov Aug. 25, Thompson Apr. 18, Millen July 11, Cronan May 22, 

